Transgender Child Who Wanted A Sex Change Talks About Life Now That He's In His 20s (VIDEO)

In 2004, Oprah met Kaden, an 11-year-old transgender child who was born a girl. Back then, Kaden explained what it was like feeling as if he had been born in the wrong body and said that he was considering a sex change to permanently change his gender when he turned 18.

Now in his early 20s, Kaden is old enough to decide whether or not to move forward with gender reassignment surgery -- but did he? "Oprah: Where Are They Now?" followed up with Kaden late last year to hear what his life has been like since appearing on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" nearly a decade ago.

"Some good things happened, some bad things happened," Kaden says in the video above. "There was some harassment in school [by] some bullies, but I got through it... I'm really happy with who I am now."

At age 14, Kaden started taking testosterone gel and followed it up with testosterone shots when he was 16. "Testosterone shots definitely made a difference -- in my muscle mass, I can grow a full beard... definitely the voice," Kaden says. "It's a nice feeling that I have a deeper voice."

Kaden also underwent chest reconstruction at age 16 to remove his breasts and, as he puts it, to become more male. "I definitely felt more alive," Kaden says. "I felt in my own skin and, definitely, my mental health improved from it dramatically."

But deciding whether to have genital reconstruction surgery is another story. Though Kaden strongly considered having a sex change and met with a doctor to explore his options, he decided not to follow through with surgically constructing male genitalia. "I wasn't really happy with the fact that it wouldn't function the way I would want it to," Kaden explains. "It would be more for looks... But [I] couldn't use it physically, and now that I'm 20 years old, I'm sexually active, so it's something that is really important to me. If I can't feel everything that I'm supposed to feel, then it's not really worth it to me."

In the video, Kaden also opens up about his dating life and his relationship with a woman named Sadie, who knew early on about Kaden being transgender. "People are usually comfortable with it. I haven't really had anyone be against it since back in middle school," he says. "As long as you can push through it and be yourself, honestly, the rewards are worth it."

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In May, Ted Chalfen, a high school student at Fairview High School in Boulder, Colorado, publicly discussed being gay and thanked his class for its support during high school graduation speech.

Tony Zamazal, a Texas transgender teen, won the right to wear a dress and heels to prom in April.

Devon, a 19-year-old trans girl who was voted homecoming queen, speaks out on the Katie Couric show in February.

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In May, 18-year-old Riley Roberts gave an impassioned speech before the Nevada Assembly about his two mothers and why gay marriage should be legal in the state.

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In March, Matthew Lannon, a sixth grade student, gave a beautiful pro-gay marriage speech in front of the Rhode Island Senate judiciary committee.

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